VIRUDHUNAGAR: In the early 1960s, India was still an infant democracy coming to terms with the rigours of the global market. The economy was in distress — what with two debilitating wars, famines, droughts and floods — and the great Green Revolution was still a fair distance away.
Even as the mandarins in Delhi were working out means to get the stagnant infant economy to crawl, a town in southern Tamil Nadu was busy scripting history.
The growth story
Sivakasi, a tiny speck on the global map, was soon to carve a niche for itself in the world of firework manufacturing, offset printing and matches industry. The growth model of the industrialists triggered a rapid transformation, and legend has it that the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was so impressed by Sivakasi that he gave it the moniker of Kutty Japan.
After a bull run spanning almost half-a-decade, Kutty Japan is in sluggish form. The reason that found it being catapulted to international acclaim has now become the very cause of concern: Fireworks.
Deepavali is fast approaching and the sales are expected to skyrocket nationally but the mood in the industrial town, once known for its hustle-bustle, is gloomy at best.
With hope bordering on trepidation, a cross-section of stake-holders await the apex court’s decision on their future as it is yet to ratify the new formula developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) for green crackers.
The matter would be taken up for consideration on September 24. Cracker industry flourished in the area as its dry, semi-arid conditions found favours with the fireworks pioneers. With each step the region took towards global acclaim, more and more people began linking their future with the fortunes of the industry.
However, when the Supreme Court in 2018 decided that the crackers were a prime cause of air and noise pollution, its ramifications were felt not only in the units but also in the homes of the thousands of workers, who in one fell swoop lost the only mode of livelihood they had. For those into number crunching, the district houses 821 factories employing nearly eight lakh people.
The legal issues
The common man in the cracker hub is not party to the legal nuances the legal luminaries lace their arguments with. However, they do understand that the Supreme Court was told by the CSIR that two ingredients — barium nitrate and aluminum powder — were major pollution contributors.
The news of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) stating garland crackers being a major causative agent of noise pollution and litter on the earth too percolated down.
However, the nodal agency granting licence to cracker units —Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) — filing an affidavit favouring cracker manufacturers came as a relief to embattled people of the district.
When trepidation gave way to despondency, a month prior to Deepavali, the apex court held that it was high time fireworks manufacturers made the transition to green crackers.
The order also banned the use of barium salts and the manufacture of garland crackers. A time limit for revelry was imposed — between 8 pm and 10 pm — with penal action following violations.
Ratification by apex court
Once ratified by the apex court, the formula developed by the CSIR-NEERI is touted to reduce emission by 30 to 35 per cent.
As part of their concerted effort to cushion the industry from the effects of slowdown triggered by the verdict, on August 22 last, it inaugurated the Green Fireworks Testing Laboratory at AAA College in Sivakasi, where the manufacturers can test their produce and get certification from CSIR-NEERI head office in Nagpur.
As matters stand now, 310 manufacturers have CSIR-NEERI certification; over 70 per cent manufacturers are yet to get it. Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TANFAMA) President P Ganesan that last year, after the verdict, sales slumped.
However, he picked holes in the time ceiling imposed by the apex court, claiming that it would be of little help as people across the country would start their revelries at the same time, leaving little scope for reduced emission. “Green crackers are touted to have lesser emissions.
CSIR-NEERI is envisaging the same in two ways: One is improving the formulation and the other is developing a new one.
Improved formulation has barium nitrate and potassium nitrate as oxidisers. Quantity of ingredients would be determined based on the product,” he said. Singed by the poor sales, the cracker manufacturers are not aiming high. “
We are not in the favour of hiking rates. However, we are measured in our outlook and have reduced the production. There is every chance of market experiencing product shortage,” he pointed out.
Speaking to TNIE, Federation of Tamil Nadu Firework Traders Association General Secretary N Elangovan said that court judgment would have a bearing on how grand Deepavali festivities are.
“We have 20 per cent unsold stock from last year,” he said.
Elangovan said fireworks units across the country do a yearly transaction of Rs 4,000 crore. Of this, 10 per cent is Tamil Nadu’s contribution. “We have 1,500 members in our association, of which 1,000 have PESO licence. During Deepavali, 4,000 temporary traders obtain licence from DRO,” he added.
Green crackers
Green crackers are “reduced emission crackers”. According to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, firecrackers that cause 30-35% lower emission of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and 35-40% lower emission of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide are categorized as “green crackers”.
The products have low content of aluminium. Use of barium salt and ash as a drying agent is banned for such crackers. The clinical composition of fireworks will be reviewed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, which would submit its report within two weeks.